Andy Bruch, Baton Rouge and Covington Andy Bruch has been involved in EMS since 1974 and has been an EMS instructor since 1977. He oversees the Baton Rouge and Covington sites. He has a bachelor's degree in biology from Bluefield State College and a master's degree in health services administration. Andy also graduated from Baton Rouge General School of Nursing as an RN and is a certified emergency nurse.

Chris Bearb, Lake Charles Chris Bearb has been working in EMS since 1993. Throughout his career, Chris has worked on an ambulance, as an offshore remote paramedic, education coordinator, and currently serves as a regional coordinator where he oversees the day-to-day operations at NEMSA's Lake Charles and Beaumont campuses. Chris has an associate degree in applied science, and is working on a bachelor's degree in unified public service management from Northwestern State University.

Jessica Hirtzler has worked for Acadian since 1992 as an EMT and paramedic. Jessica has worked as a preceptor and teaches CPR, First Aid, and Emergency Medical Responder courses in Central Louisiana. She is a certified EMS instructor and clinical coordinator for NEMSA at the Alexandria site. She has taught both EMT and paramedic levels while at NEMSA and currently teaches the paramedic classes in Alexandria. Along with an associate degree in applied science from South Louisiana Community College, Jessica currently teaches American Heart Association BLS and ACLS classes.

David Finley, Education Coordinator David Finley has been involved in EMS since 1989 and an instructor since 2005. He is the regional coordinator for the Baton Rouge campus and is the assistant instructor for the paramedic program. David has an associate degree in applied science from South Louisiana Community College.

Alan Lambert, Instructor NEMSA Instructor Alan Lambert has been involved in EMS since 1991. Alan is the paramedic course instructor at the Baton Rouge campus and has served on the board of directors of the National Association of State EMS Officials. In 2011, he was invited to the Emergency Services and Homeland Security Education mission in Israel.

Covington Faculty

Chris Ebright, Instructor Education Coordinator Chris Ebright has been providing medical education since 1993. He has extensive experience in the EMS field ranging from primary EMS response to critical care transportation. Chris has a bachelor's degree from the University of Toledo and is the NEMSA representative at annual state, regional and national EMS conferences.

Drayton Kittle, InstructorDrayton came to work in EMS in 2011 after finishing his enlistment in the Louisiana Army National Guard. He has a background in Military Intelligence and Linguistics. He holds two Associate Degrees in Human Intelligence Operations and The Arabic Language from the Defense Language Institute. He served as a paramedic and preceptor in his hometown of Slidell and his now the EMT instructor in Covington.

Gretna Faculty

Jonathan Dees, InstructorJohnathan Dees decided to change his career from IT work to the the EMS field after being inspired by his paramedic father-in-law. He attended the National EMS Academy's EMT class in Jefferson Parish and joined the Acadian family in 2009. He immediately recognized that he loved this line of work. He then went through the paramedic course in Gretna. During his time as an EMT and while going through paramedic class, Johnathan volunteered at the Academy every chance he got. He began teaching the paramedic class full-time in 2012.

He discovered that teaching people to do what he loved was the most fulfilling job he's ever held. Once, while working a detail, he saw that every medic and EMT there was one of his students.

He states "Seeing my contribution to my community in that scale made me realize how much of a difference I was able to make." He is happily married to his wife of 15 years and they have 2 boys, ages 5 and 10. In his free time he enjoys going to the movies regularly with his friends and family.

Houma Faculty

Robert Clement, Houma and Gretna Robert Clement has been involved in EMS since 1984 and EMS education since 1995. Rob oversees all aspects of training at the National EMS Academy campuses in Houma and Gretna and has an associate degree in applied science from South Louisiana Community College.

Stacey Kaizer, Education Coordinator Stacey Kaizer has been involved with EMS since 1997 and has been an EMS Instructor since 2007. Stacey currently teaches the EMT and anatomy & physiology programs at NEMSA's Houma site. She has an associate degree in EMS-paramedics and a bachelor's from Nicholls State University in allied health management and supervision.

Glenn Naquin, Education Coordinator Glenn Naquin started in EMS in 1993 and received his paramedic certification in 1996. He has worked in fire, ground ambulance, offshore safety/medical, and aviation medical services. Glenn became an education coordinator for NEMSA in 2010. He has a bachelor's in psychology and a master's degree in professional counseling from Liberty University. Glenn also is a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC) and is fluent in Spanish.

Lafayette Faculty

Paul Duplantis, Education Coordinator Paul Duplantis has been involved with EMS since 1992 and teaches EMT and paramedic courses. Paul is a certified Louisiana EMS Instructor and also teaches, PHTLS, AMLS, ACLS, and BLS courses. He has an associate degree of applied science from South Louisiana Community College and is working towards a bachelor's of applied science through Northwestern State University.

Al Landry, Education Coordinator Al Landry has been in EMS since 1980. Al holds an associate degree from Nicholls State University, a bachelor's degree in public service administration and master's degree in adult education with a concentration in homeland security from Northwestern State University. He works at the NEMSA Lafayette campus where his primary teaching responsibility is the delivery of computer-based refresher and continuing education courses.

Liz Landry, Clinical Coordinator Liz Landry serves as the clinical coordinator and has been in EMS since 1981. Liz has been an EMS instructor since 1999. She maintains affiliation agreements with hospitals and other agencies throughout the United States. She travels to all of our NEMSA campuses and guides students concerning their clinical goals and competencies for the clinical component of the paramedic program. Liz has a bachelor's degree in unified public safety from Northwestern State University.

Jennifer Melancon, Education Coordinator Jennifer Melancon began her EMS career in 1998 and became a paramedic in 2005. Jennifer develops and teaches recertification material and coordinates the recertification process for the nationally registered medics in Louisiana and Texas. She has a bachelor's in education from Louisiana State University, an associate degree in emergency health science from Our Lady of the Lake College and is a graduate of the National EMS Academy.

Chris Mixon, Developmental Editor Chris Mixon has been involved in EMS since 1981. He completed his EMT, intermediate and paramedic training with Acadian and has worked as a medic in multiple fields. Since 1997, he has been a part of NEMSA serving as the developmental editor where he assists subject matter experts in writing and developing new educational materials for EMS providers. Chris has an associate degree in emergency health science from South Louisiana Community College, a bachelor's in unified public safety from Northwestern State, and a master's degree in adult education from Northwestern State.

Harry Murphy, Instructor Harry Murphy started his EMS career in 1985 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and has practiced in six states before joining NEMSA in 2008. Harry teaches the EMT and paramedic programs and administers learning management system platforms for the paramedic level. He has an associate's degree in emergency health science and a bachelor's degree in public safety administration from Northwestern State University.

Karri Douget, Education Coordinator Karri Douget has been involved with EMS since 1991 and has worked in ambulance, Air Med, and education divisions of Acadian. Karri has been an EMT and paramedic instructor with NEMSA since 2009. She has an associate degree in criminal justice from SOWELA Community College in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Martin Lee, Austin Martin Lee has been involved in EMS since 1996 with the U.S. Army. He has been directly involved in the EMS training programs, continuing education, and new hire process at NEMSA's Austin campus since 2007. In addition to his EMS instructor credentials, Martin has a master's degree in acupuncture and oriental medicine from Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin.

Chris Bearb, Beaumont Chris Bearb has been working in EMS since 1993. Throughout his career, Chris has worked on an ambulance, as an offshore remote paramedic, education coordinator, and currently serves as a regional coordinator where he oversees the day-to-day operations at NEMSA's Lake Charles and Beaumont campuses. Chris has an associate degree in applied science, and is working on a bachelor's degree in unified public service management from Northwestern State University.

Austin Faculty

James Stuart, Instructor James Stuart began working in EMS in 2000. He made his start with Acadian in 2007 and over the course of his career has held positions as a paramedic, preceptor, field training officer, EMS instructor, Allsafe & EVOC instructor, AHA instructor and national EMT instructor. James teaches the EMT class in Austin and assists with the paramedic class, AHA courses and orientation for new employees to Acadian.

Kearose Neve, InstructorKearose Neve earned her EMT-Basic in 2003 through the US Army. She served seven years as a flight medic and medical instructor at various duty assignments. In 2013, Kearose joined Acadian Ambulance in the Bexar County area as an EMT. Kearose earned her paramedic certification through NEMSA-Austin in 2015. During that time she also held positions as a preceptor and associate quality improvement coordinator. In 2016, she joined NEMSA as a paramedic instructor for the Austin site. She currently holds an Associate Degree in Applied Science and is working on a Bachelor's in Science-Emergency Health Science from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Beaumont Faculty

Rebecca Gallagher, Instructor Rebecca Gallagher has been involved in EMS since 2005 and became a paramedic through NEMSA in 2011. She began working full-time with NEMSA as an EMS instructor in August of 2014 and assists with the paramedic class and NREMT skills psychomotor skills examiner.

Tobias Theisen, Instructor Tobias Theisen has been a paramedic for more than 20 years and was one of the first eight advanced practice paramedics in Fort Worth, Texas. Tobias works at the Beaumont NEMSA site as a paramedic instructor and also assists with the EMT class. He served as a combat medical specialist in the U.S. Army, and attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.